Tag Archives: online food shopping

According to a recent posting on techcrunch.com, Walmart has announced that it will begin testing a new service that will allow customers with August smart home devices, like the August doorbell and security cameras, to have their packages and groceries delivered inside their home instead of left on the doorstep. Grocery orders won’t just be placed inside the house like the packages, but will be put away in the fridge and freezer, when appropriate.

The retailer says it will soon start this test in the Silicon Valley area with select customers who have opted into to try the new service.

Sounds like continuous process improvement and the trend toward innovative customer service continues!

A recent “10 Items or Less” article posted by SupermarketNews identified steps taken by major food retailers that indicate the focus on e-shopping will continue to grow in 2017.

The article states that Wal-Mart Stores plans to have around 1,100 stores offering online grocery pickup this year, and that they are continuing with initiatives built around making fulfillment more versatile and/or efficient, such as offering discounts on online orders picked up in stores, and testing the idea of having store employees deliver orders to customer’s homes on their post-work commutes.

The piece goes on to report that Amazon said it was rolling out “Instant Pickup,” a free service offering its Prime members a curated selection of “daily essentials” available for pickup in two minutes or less. The service is available at five campus locations currently with plans to add more locations soon.

Even no-frills Aldi had issued a statement indicating it was getting into e-commerce for the first time through a partnership with Instacart in three cities.

“Our partnership with Instacart is another example of Aldi expanding our commitment to customer convenience and value,” Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi, said. “We know customers are looking for new ways to save time and money.”

As these new services are being rolled-out, it strikes me that supermarket chains will need to take an innovative approach to refining their work processes to reduce waste and cost.

A recent SupermarketNewsarticle reported that Wegmans is launching an e-commerce partnership with Instacart , which will enable online shopping and delivery at Wegmans Food Markets in select cities.

According to the article, the service will be available in Northern Virginia and Maryland, and will allow customers to order from Wegmans online and have their groceries delivered to them in as little as one hour.

A Wegmans spokesperson was quoted in the article as saying “it was offering the service to meet customer demand for time.”

This perspective is common as, in an effort to respond to consumer demand and competitive pressure, numerous food retailers have been striving to provide online offerings.

We expect the trend to continue as supermarket chains find new and innovative ways of maintaining customer loyalty.

“We make it easy to take your grocery store online,” says Indemand, a San Francisco-based plug and play platform for building an on-demand store or service.

According to the company website, their platform allows anyone to set up their own on-demand store without the need for any technical expertise. Customers can customize their solution, and also take advantage of a “mobile-first” solution.

While the service is available to “any” type of business, pricing plans for supermarkets range between $149 – $299 per month, plus a start-up fee and a per transaction fee.

According to a recent SupermarketNews article, Amazon has released information about new “click-and-collect” sites in Seattle.

Called “AmazonFresh Pickup,” the new concept will provide a full selection of grocery and household items available for online ordering and pickup, free to its Prime members.

The prototype sites are currently open only to Amazon employees. While Amazon did not specify any time-frames or plans, the article quoted an analyst at Wolfe Research, who said he expected Amazon will open as many as 30 such outlets this year.

A recent SupermarketNews article reported that in ongoing efforts to improve the online shopping and pickup process, Wal-Mart is testing a massive storage locker at a store in Rogers, Ark., that can distribute packages to online shoppers “in the manner of a vending machine.”

Known as a BOPUS (buy online pick up in store) machine, the device is being tested a Walmart Supercenter in Rogers, Arkansas.

According to the article, the machine allows for automated distribution of online orders and works in conjunction with a kiosk previously installed at the Rogers store where online shoppers can alert the company when they’ve arrived to retrieve orders made online.

A spokesman told SN Friday that Walmart was testing the device as a means of storing items ordered for pickup, and providing faster service to shoppers. It allows for such shoppers to retrieve orders without the help of a store employee, potentially providing further convenience for the shopper and a more efficient solution for Walmart.

A recent SupermarketNews article reported that three sizable supermarket chains are enhancing their e-commerce offerings.

Albertsons is offering an introductory special in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for a program that involves a strategic partnership with Tom Thumb. Shoppers will receive $10 off and free delivery for the first order placed online or via a Tom Thumb delivery app, with orders arriving at households within one-hour delivery windows.

Supervalu also announced that the company has been testing three e-commerce providers at its retail banners in separate markets, and that home delivery and click-and-collect options will be available by the end of the year in 25% of retail stores, which is about 50 stores.

Harris Teeter also announced plans to expand its e-commerce offerings through grocery delivery service Shipt to the Charlotte, N.C. metro area.

Charlotte customers who sign up for an annual membership with Shipt prior to the launch on Oct. 26 will receive $25 off their first order. According to the article, Shipt membership costs $99 per year for unlimited deliveries; delivery is free on all orders over $35.

It seems the trend toward online shopping is continuing to grow. While the vast majority of grocery shopping still takes place in stores, industry experts predict this pattern may change during the next decades.

Data provided by Statista indicate that this year approximately five-percent of U.S. consumers prefer shopping for groceries online. The total U.S. online grocery sales amounted to about 7 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 and are expected to rise to 18 billion U.S. dollars by 2020.

Instacart is expanding to 17 new ZIP codes in Massachusetts according to a recent Boston Globe article.

The San Francisco-based company, which allows users to order groceries online for delivery in as little as an hour, said this trend toward online shopping can help “aging residents navigate the necessities of hometown living.”

The article went on to say Instacart currently has 7,000 active users in the Boston region, and hopes to more than double that number in the next year. The company also has about 100 employees and some 300 delivery contractors in the Boston area, with plans to hire up to 50 more contractors for the new expansion.

Customers can opt to pay $5.99 per delivery or frequent shoppers can pay $150 per year to waive all delivery fees.

A recent SupermarketNews article reported that Super Foods, an independent operator in southwest Alabama, is launching an online grocery program, which is scheduled to begin in mid-August, according to the e-commerce provider.

Said Lillian Wilson, the retailer’s HR director, “Our customers have been asking for online ordering, and we’re pleased to be able to give it to them.”

The online offering will make available Super Foods’ entire inventory, with online prices that will always match in-store prices and a choice of curbside pickup or home delivery for what it called “a small fee.” The chain is also building a mobile shopping app that will sync with online ordering, including a built-in bar code scanner that will let shoppers scan any item to add instantly to their shopping cart.

Along similar lines, in a recent Viewpoints editorial author Andrew Levi suggests that supermarkets might “cash in” by making each trip to the store more fun and “engaging” via some type of app like “Pokémon Go.”

As you may well be aware, the game launched earlier this month and has become quite a phenomena!

“It’s no wonder that retailers, advertisers and marketers are already beginning to explore how to capitalize on this momentum by using lure modules on a “Pokéstop” in the game to attract more users to a certain area, such as a store location, so there are more Pokémon to catch,” said Levi.

Hannaford has introduced “Hannaford to Go,” an on-line shopping with curb-side pick-up option that is now available in twenty-five of their stores throughout New England and New York.

Shoppers can go to the company’s web site to select a store from the list to start shopping. An “online grocery cart” is then completed (i.e., shopping list), a pick-up time is selected (daily 9 AM to 8 PM in ME and NH and 9 AM to 9 PM in NY and MA with some Sunday exceptions) with a four hour advance required for same day pick up.

Payment is made from the shopper’s car while the completed order is loaded by store personnel.

There is a $5 fee (waived for the first order) and all pickup times are subject to availability.

We have interviewed several users, all of whom gave a generally positive rating of the service.

Looks like another example of decisions being driven by consumer preferences for convenience and time-saving, and another step forward in the trend toward making on-line food shopping available on a more wide-spread basis.

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